Home > Courts and tribunals > About the tribunals > Body Corporate and Community Management

Body Corporate and Community Management

Latest news

New forms

As part of the Premier’s ministerial portfolio arrangements, the Honourable Cameron Dick MP, Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations now has responsibility for the legislative dispute resolution provisions and the BCCM Office. The Honourable Peter Lawlor MP, Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading has responsibility for all other aspects of body corporate legislation. This change means that the responsibility for a number of approved forms under the BCCM Act has transferred to the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.

New versions of the approved forms (Forms 1 (v07), 2 (v05), 6 (v06), 7 (v07), 13 (v07), 14 (v08), 18 (v06), 19 (v05) and 20 (v06)), have been prepared to identify the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation as the department responsible for these forms. They are available on our forms page.

Please note these forms are approved to commence on 1 January 2010. Approval for the previous versions of these forms will be withdrawn on 1 April 2010.

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) commenced on 1 December 2009. QCAT provides a single gateway to increase the community’s access to civil and administrative justice in Queensland. QCAT amalgamates the jurisdiction of 18 tribunals, and will also hear a range of matters previously heard by the Queensland courts or other bodies. QCAT will have an important role in body corporate dispute resolution.

Since July 2007 appeals from adjudicator’s orders have been heard by the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal (CCT). These appeals will now be determined by QCAT’s appeal tribunal.

The CCT also determined what are known in the body corporate legislation as ‘complex disputes’. These include applications to adjust lot entitlements and certain contractual matters relating to body corporate managers, caretaking service contractors and letting agents. These disputes will now be heard by QCAT. However, complex disputes will continue to be able to be determined by a specialist adjudicator through an application to the Commissioner’s Office, if the parties consent to the appointment of the specialist adjudicator and the payment of the adjudicator’s fees.

In addition, QCAT will hear reviews of certain decisions made about dispute resolution applications, such as the decision of the Commissioner to reject an application. Appeals of these decisions were previously heard by the District Court.

All body corporate matters commenced in the CCT but not yet finalised at 1 December 2009 will be transferred to and decided by QCAT.  Body corporate matters that were started in court but not yet finalised at 1 December 2009 may be transferred to QCAT by the court in certain circumstances, but will otherwise continue to be heard and decided by the court.

The contact details for QCAT are:
Street address: 259 Queen Street, Brisbane
Postal address: GPO Box 1639, Brisbane QLD 4001
Telephone:   1300 QLD CAT (1300 753 228)
Fax:   07 3239 0979
Website:  http://www.qcat.qld.gov.au/

New dispute resolution practice directions

In October 2009 the Commissioner published a suite of 21 practice directions for the body corporate dispute resolution service. The practice directions provide information on the policies and procedures applying to dispute resolution applications lodged with the Commissioner’s Office. The practice directions are designed to supplement existing guides and fact sheets with more specific information on particular aspects of the dispute resolution service. The practice directions can be accessed on our dispute resolution page.

Fee increases from 1 September 2009

As of 1 September 2009 the fees payable under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 have increased. The schedule of new fees is available from the fees page.

A new BCCM Form 3 Version 12 will have effect from 1 September 2009 and will be available on our forms page.

Previous versions of this form will be accepted until 30 September 2009. However, any requests for a search of orders received after 30 September 2009 which are not completed on BCCM Form 3 version 12, or which do not include all of the requested details, will be returned with a request to complete the correct form or to provide the missing details.

New forms

The Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM Office) has relocated to Level 17, 288 Edward Street, Brisbane.

New versions of the approved forms which include the address of the BCCM Office (Forms 15 (v08), 22 (v03) and 23 (v03)), as well as Forms 4 and 5 and the form for applying for a Referee's order, have been prepared to identify the new address. They are available on our forms page.

Please note Forms 15, 22 and 23 are approved to commence on 19 June 2009. Approval for the previous versions of these forms will be withdrawn on 22 July 2009.

The Commissioner's Office

The role of the Commissioner's office is to assist people who live, work or invest in community titles schemes in accordance with the powers conferred on it by the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the BCCM Act).

The BCCM Act states that the Commissioner's office must provide a dispute resolution service and an information service. The dispute resolution service resolves disputes through conciliation or adjudication. The information service responds to community enquiries about the legislation, promotes our services and conducts information seminars to assist our clients to understand their rights and obligations under the BCCM Act. The Commissioner's office also provides a search facility enabling the public to access adjudicator's orders affecting particular community titles schemes.

All of these services are primarily delivered through our Brisbane office, however regional Queensland is served by a freecall information line (1800 060 119) and by seminars delivered in response to client needs.

The main objectives of the Commissioner's office are to provide people involved with community titles schemes with:

an efficient and relevant information and education service
a quality dispute resolution service which is timely and responsive
prompt and accurate searches of adjudicators orders.

Services provided

Our office provides the following services:

a dispute resolution service for people involved with community titles schemes
information in response to telephone and written enquiries from clients
personal meetings with clients to provide information
information seminars (for information on current seminars, click here)
information brochures on the legislation
maintenance of a database of adjudicator's orders relating to individual community titles schemes
searches of adjudicator's orders
liaison with interest groups and industry bodies to ensure that our services are meeting client needs.

The complete text of selected adjudicator decisions is available through Australasian Legal Information Institute. This website is continually updated to include recent orders.